McCAFFERY: Fans storming the court is a recipe for disaster

There are two ways, that's all, to put a stop to a sports tradition that has ceased to serve its intended purpose -- the onto-the-basketball-court stampede.

One is to begin to implement practical, punitive ways to discourage the practice.

The other: Catastrophe.

It's unfortunate that it has come to that, for what other reason is there for sports if not to bring people joy? But what used to be a spontaneous display of celebration has become appointment TV. It's almost to the point where an announcer should say, "Seconds left in this one, stay right where you are and we will be right back with video of 5,000 people running down steps and trampling things."

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Not to chill one particular fan base's moment of happiness, but the game the other night on ESPNU provided as handy a moment as any to recognize the tiredness of the act. In it, Manhattan won in double overtime to improve to 8-6 in its conference over Iona, which would dip to 9-7. The Miracle on Ice was safe for another night, in other words. Yet as if on the director's orders, the TV cameras captured the entire mini-riot.

Sports history is crammed with disasters due to fans being trampled for one reason or another. It's why security staffs correctly allow the stampedes; bottling the fans would be worse. Still, the tick-tick-ticking haunts. Court-storming cannot end well if it is not more vigilantly discouraged.

Conferences should include in their TV agreements a ban on broadcasting such demonstrations. That would be a start. If the fans didn't think they would be on TV, they might be less likely to carry on. If that doesn't work, try NCAA penalties. But do something.

Hoarders ... I don't get them.

Some rumors say the Eagles would trade Nick Foles. Others insist they are intent on keeping the second-year quarterback.

So if ever there was a call to invoke the actions-over-words clause, this is the time.

The Eagles don't want Foles. Not really. For how much more clear can they be? Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman have had gushers of opportunities to commit to Foles, yet refuse.

It's Foles' fault, of course. He had a splendid chance to make himself irreplaceable last season and didn't. Kelly's three-plays-a-minute offense cannot thrive with that kind of a quarterback.

Voters are to choose 15, with at least five from each category. My ballot: Allen, Auriemma, Beck, Crawford, Harlan, LeClair, Luzinski, Petrie, Propp, Richter, Short, Rigby, Robie, Shiley and Schilling. And just because, I wrote in Pete Rose.

Also, I voted for boxing promoter Joe Hand Sr. and former Eagles GM Jimmy Murray for the Legacy of Excellence Award.